Lateralized Whorf Effect of Cross-Linguistic Spatial Relations in Korean and English Speakers

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Abstract

The Whorf hypothesis states that language affects thought, and has been
debated relentlessly in the domain of color and space for decades. Recently, a
method of research considering the functional organization of the brain revealed
a lateralized effect of the Wharf hypothesis when a target stimulus is present in
the right visual field (RVF), but not in the left (LVF). The English and Korean
languages both classify spatial concepts of containment and support, but only
Korean lexicalizes a spatial relation of "tightness of fit" that distinguishes how
tightly (kkita), or loosely (nohta) an object is contained (in) or supported (on). We
studied whether this linguistic difference will influence Korean and English
speakers in a lateralized nonverbal similarity judgment task comprising three trial
types that highlight these spatial relation distinctions. Results found that there
was no lateralized Wharf effect, however there was still evidence of English and
Korean speakers classifying spatial relations by their language. Explanations. as
to why the study did not work are proposed, and the theory of the role that
language plays in cognitive processes are explored.